the president will win in columbus and has to -- >> john, i want to interrupt for a moment. i want to go right to erin burnett in the ohio capital of columbus watching what's going on. there's some news that you're learning. what are you learning? >> reporter: what we are learning, a little bit about some of the early and absentee votes. we have been telling every voter got the option to go absentee. 1.8 million people, absentee or early, those votes are crucial. we are starting to get them come in. one of the places we have been talking about is cuyahoga county and cleveland. that's where martin is with some of the early count at a place so crucial for the president. what do the numbers say up there? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. this is the place the president has to do well and so far, he is doing well. but again, these are just the very first early numbers. president obama leading 176,162 votes to mitt romney's 72,135. again, those are the tallies of the early votes. more of those still to come. right now, the president has doubled the lead. he needs to do really well h